The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of the ornamental dwarf evergreen shrub Rhaphiolepis umbellata, known commonly as Indian Hawthorn, and hereafter referred to by the varietal denomination ‘RutRhaph1’. In the landscape, ‘RutRhaph1’ can be used for foundation plantings, mass plantings, and in large containers. The plant is suited for low maintenance landscapes and performs well in coastal areas as well on dry and sandy sites.
The original plant of ‘RutRhaph1’ (originally designated “RA96UM-1”) was grown from seed of open-pollinated R. umbellata ‘Minor.’ The seed was collected in 1996 from a field trial conducted in Tifton, Ga.
Seed were germinated at Tifton, Ga., and liners were grown. In 1997, the liners were taken to Cairo, Ga., and were grown under customary production conditions.
‘RutRhaph1’ was selected in 1998 for further evaluation. In autumn of 2001, ‘RutRhaph1’ was planted in the field at Tifton, Ga. for further evaluation. In May, 2004, semi-hardwood cuttings were collected, treated with a 1:5 dilution of Dip N' Grow (Dip N' Grow Inc., Clackamas, Oreg.) as a five-second quick dip and planted in 7.9 cm×7.9 cm plastic pots filled with pine bark and perlite (2:1, v:v) substrate.
Cuttings of ‘RutRhaph1’ were placed on a propagation bench in a glass greenhouse at Tifton, Ga. and received a mist frequency of 4 s every 10 min during daylight hours. Light exclusion was approximately 70%. Greenhouse control temperatures were set as 32° C. (day) and 21° C. (night). Rooting percentage was approximately 90% after 120 days, evidencing successful asexual reproduction of ‘RutRhaph1’. The unique characteristics of this new cultivar are stable and reproduced true-to-type in successive generations. The new variety ‘RutRhaph1’ has been shown to maintain its distingishing characteristics through successive asexual propagations by, for example, semi-hardwood cuttings placed under mist and treated with rooting hormone.